Frank Morano Breaks Silence: Guardianship Abuse, NYC Chaos & Staten Island’s Battle Line

New York City Council Member Frank Morano sat down with journalists Richard Luthmann and Michael Volpe for a blistering, no-filters interview that ripped the lid off abusive guardianships, political dysfunction, and the coming war over Staten Island’s congressional map. Morano explained how celebrity cases like Wendy Williams only hint at a much darker, systemic problem—one affecting thousands of ordinary families crushed by Article 81 and Surrogate’s Court guardianships with almost no oversight. His proposed reform bill—nicknamed Wendy’s Law—would create NYC’s first-ever watchdog commission to investigate guardianship abuses, hold hearings, and expose how vulnerable seniors and disabled adults are being isolated, financially drained, and stripped of their rights with impunity.

Morano detailed cases where guardians control every aspect of a person’s existence—including their phone, money, home, and medical decisions—without meaningful judicial review. He emphasized mandatory independent legal counsel, fee transparency, limits on self-dealing, required judicial check-ins, and movement toward supported decision-making as long-term solutions. He confirmed he’s working with Wendy Williams directly on reform efforts.

The conversation then veered sharply into machine politics, double-dipping scandals, and ethics failures in NYC government. Morano hammered home that transparency—not demonizing legal pensions—is the priority, while acknowledging the public’s right to demand reform when political insiders enrich themselves through loopholes the average taxpayer could never access.

Then came the big bomb: the Marc Elias–engineered lawsuit seeking to carve Staten Island in half and attach its neighborhoods to Manhattan and Brooklyn. Morano blasted the maneuver as blatant partisan gaming designed to dilute Staten Island’s voice in Congress. He confirmed he is prepared to intervene and fight to preserve a unified NY-11.

Finally, Morano delivered a takedown of Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani’s “free everything” agenda—free childcare, free buses, rent freezes—warning that New York is watching “Santa Claus politics” collide with fiscal reality. Luthmann's prediction: the governance failures will mirror America’s 1850s Know-Nothing implosion.

This interview is explosive, wide-ranging, and politically consequential. Watch it. Share it. This is the inside look at NYC politics they never wanted you to see.